With all the World Cup coverage in the spotlight, it may be easy to forget that an important Kansas election is just around the corner.
Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 4, but voting by mail or in person at advance polling places will begin in Johnson County before that.
Here’s a rundown on what to expect.
Partisan vs. nonpartisan races
The upcoming election will include both partisan and nonpartisan candidates. Who you see on your ballot will depend on whether you align yourself with the Democratic or Republican party. (Here’s every Johnson County-area race on the 2026 primary ballots.)
Potential voters can declare a party when they register to vote. The deadline for that is Tuesday, July 14.
If you didn’t declare a party when you registered, you can do it when you go in to vote. But if you already are a registered Democrat or Republican, the deadline to change in time for the primary is already past.
Partisan elections are when party members decide who they want to run against the opposite party in November. So, for example, instead of having 11 Democrats to choose from for the U.S. Senate in November, there will be only one to run against the Republican nominee.
Kansas recognizes the two major political parties, and if you align with one, that party’s candidates are who you’ll see. The smaller parties, like the Libertarian Party and United Kansas Party, are also recognized by the state, but do their nominating at state conventions.
The partisan races in the upcoming election are for:
- U.S. Senate,
- U.S. House of Representatives,
- Governor/Lieutenant Governor,
- Secretary of State, Attorney General,
- State Treasurer,
- Commissioner of Insurance,
- Kansas House Districts (list of districts in Johnson County on the ballot here),
- the Kansas State Board of Education
- and Johnson County Township clerks.
Party precinct committee chairs are also elected during the primary in even-numbered years.
Nonpartisan candidates and issues
Some candidates and issues don’t demand party affiliation for a vote.
That means you still need to be registered to vote, but you don’t have to be registered under a particular party to vote on nonpartisan candidates and issues appearing on your ballot in August.
This year, the list of nonpartisan candidates and issues includes the chair of the county commission and a constitutional amendment that would make seats on the Kansas Supreme Court an elected office, doing away with the appointing committee of lawyers who propose a selection of names to the governor.
Mark your calendars for these dates
- July 15 — The county election office begins to send out ballots for people who want to advance vote by mail. They can be returned via drop boxes or the U.S. Postal Service. To be counted, they must reach the election office by the end of voting on Election Day. More on mail ballots here.
- July 18 — The first day of in-person advance voting. Voters can cast ballots at any of 12 sites throughout the county, listed here. Advance in-person voting happens Mondays through Saturdays the two weeks before the election.
- Aug. 3 — The last day to advance vote in person ends as the advance sites close at noon.
- Aug. 4 — You can vote between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Keep reading: From Congress to county commission, tell us what issues you want JoCo primary candidates talking about
